Sustainability Files :
Creating New Trends through Promotion of Popularizing Super GPs

The A-La-Uno that was launched in December 2006 solved the problem of scale adhesion, which was an issue in hygienic ceramics, by adopting new organic glass on the main body. The principal feature is that it maintains cleanliness and is easy to clean. In June 2014, the new A-La-Uno with enhanced environmental performance as well as improved cleanliness was released.
The eco-conscious features including the quick-warming seat that immediately heats only when the toilet is in use, instantaneous water heater that heats water for washing while it is used, and an ECONAVI function that controls operation and room temperature by sensing the user's presence in the bathroom or on the toilet seat, have achieved the industry's top-class*¹ energy-saving performance. A significant amount of water is also saved with the turn trap flushing system which releases accumulated water at once with little water. Compared with toilets of twenty years ago, the A-La-Uno yields total annual savings of roughly 6,000 yen in electricity costs and about 14,000 yen in water costs.
The focus on cleanliness in the design also contributes to environmental performance. In addition to the novel organic glass and the easy-to-clean shape, a triple guard that prevents against scattering, dripping, or leaking has been adopted. This reduces not only the time required for cleaning, but also the amount of cleaning agents and water used.

*1: Source: Energy-saving Performance Catalog by the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy.

Photovoltaics is a clean way to generate electricity without using fossil fuels, therefore no CO₂, no exhaust gases and no burnt residues are discharged. Panasonic places Photovoltaic module HIT^TM as one of typical eco-conscious products. In 2014, we achieved a cell conversion efficiency of 22.5% of HIT^TM 250α which is a high-end model, and succeeded in further improving its power generation.
HIT^TM, which started mass production in 1997, consists of silicon wafer covered with amorphous silicon film to form hetero junction cells minimizing the loss of electric charge, and also uses high performance module technology for high conversion efficiency and power generation. The HIT^TM 250α succeeds in minimizing various types of losses in the cells to gain even further performance improvements. Through all this, HIT^TM has achieved power generation with industry leading level per area and system capacity (kW).

*2: HIT^TM is a registered trademark of the Panasonic Group.

Emissions regulations for construction machinery and industrial vehicles have become stricter in recent years, just as with automobiles, resulting in a greater demand for electric forklifts over conventional gasoline-powered models. However, conventional forklifts using liquid-type lead storage batteries as the main power have problems in terms of rapid charging and continuous use. In addition, electrolytic solution has to be filled on a regular basis to ensure battery performance and safety.
Panasonic's Battery Pack System for Forklift Truck Application which incorporates EV lead storage batteries was successfully commercialized in 2014. The number of positive and negative electrode plates of the incorporated cells was increased, and lattice processing was done extremely fine to improve conductivity and enable rapid charging. The battery's life is extended 1.5-fold*³ through the use of a charging control algorithm that is gentler on the battery as well as through a new structure that facilitates equalizing and cooling internal temperatures, in place of the power controller to manage battery charging. Furthermore, as the internal electrolytic solution has only minimal loss during charging, concerns over battery deterioration due to forgetting to refill the solution is largely eliminated.

*3: According to research by Panasonic Storage Battery; test temperature: 25°C, discharging 20°C A / DOD 80%.